Stars out for Sheffield Shield openers
THE STARS ARE SET TO SHINE IN THE OPENING ROUND OF THE SHEFFIELD SHIELD WHEN ALL THREE DAY-NIGHT GAMES ARE PLAYED WITH A PINK BALL AND TEST PLACES ARE UP FOR GRABS
* SOUTH AUSTRALIA V NSW AT ADELAIDE OVAL
Such is the strength of the NSW squad, every player named has represented Australia in one of the three formats. All eyes will be on David Warner who returns from a broken thumb, while what movement Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood can muster with the pink ball at the Adelaide Oval will also be intriguing.
For SA, Tom Cooper compiled a mature 105 against the Blues in the one-day cup final on Sunday and the Redbacks will be relying on him to produce again against the same star-studded bowling attack. Callum Ferguson (328 runs at 46.85) and Kane Richardson (15 wickets at 22.73) were also impressive in the limited-overs competition and come into the Shield season in strong form.
Squads:
South Australia: Travis Head (capt), Tom Cooper, Mark Cosgrove, Callum Ferguson, Jake Lehmann, Tim Ludeman, Joe Mennie, Kane Richardson, Alex Ross, Kelvin Smith, Daniel Worrall, Adam Zampa
NSW: Ed Cowan, David Warner, Nic Maddinson, Steve Smith (capt), Moises Henriques, Peter Nevill, Sean Abbott, Stephen O'Keefe, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon, Doug Bollinger.
* TASMANIA V WESTERN AUSTRALIA AT BLUNDSTONE ARENA, HOBART
The Tigers will have their work cut out taking on a strengthened Western Australia. Without Ed Cowan, who has transferred back to NSW, the heat will be on George Bailey and Alex Doolan to pile on the runs. Meanwhile, highly-heralded left-handed 18-year-old batsman Jake Doran (91 runs at 30.33 in the one-day cup) is in line to make his first-grade debut.
For WA, Mitchell Johnson will provide plenty of spark with the ball and Adam Voges (1358 runs at 104.46), Shaun Marsh (706 at 64.18) and Cameron Bancroft (896 at 47.15) will be looking to back-up last season's run-fest with big scores to confirm Test spots. The Warriors' left-arm quick Joel Paris could also make his Shield debut after taking 24 wickets at 17.79 in the past two one-day cups.
Squads:
Tasmania: George Bailey (capt) Jackson Bird, Xavier Doherty, Alex Doolan, Jake Doran, Ben Dunk, James Faulkner, Andrew Fekete, Evan Gulbis, Dominic Michael, Tim Paine, Sam Rainbird
Western Australia: Cameron Bancroft, Marcus Harris, Michael Klinger, Adam Voges (capt), Shaun Marsh, Mitch Marsh, Sam Whiteman, Ashton Agar, Mitchell Johnson, Jason Behrendorff, Michael Hogan, Joel Paris, Simon Mackin.
* VICTORIA V QUEENSLAND AT MCG
Victoria have left out Cameron White and Aaron Finch while Chris Rogers and David Hussey have retired. Plenty of interest will centre on the form of Test aspirant Peter Siddle and Fawad Ahmed, who both missed selection in the one-day cup.
For Queensland, Joe Burns and Usman Khawaja are in solid form after spanking centuries against New Zealand in the CA XI match over the weekend. They'll need to step up though - the Bulls are still without Chris Lynn (shoulder injury) who topped their batting averages last year (439 at 62.71).
Squads:
Victoria: Matthew Wade (capt), Fawad Ahmed, Scott Boland, Dan Christian, Travis Dean, Peter Handscomb, John Hastings, Glenn Maxwell, James Pattinson, Rob Quiney, Peter Siddle, Marcus Stoinis.
Queensland: Joe Burns, Marnus Labuschagne, Usman Khawaja, Scott Henry, Nathan Reardon, James Hopes, Chris Hartley, Ben Cutting, Cameron Boyce, Peter George, Mark Steketee, Jack Wildermuth.
